Govt. gets police to graze on posters

Posters put up by the National Trade Union Centre (NTUC) throughout the island demanding the government to increase salaries of workers have been removed by the police on instructions from the government.

Police personnel have been deployed to remove posters that were pasted in Galle, Weligama, Matara, Dikwella and Devinuwara areas and in main cities in other districts.

Posters demanding the government to increase salaries is one phase of the struggle carried out by the NTUC to win a Rs.10,000 salary increase for state sector employees and a 40% increase for the private sector employees.

A spokesman for the NTUC speaking to ‘Lankatruth’ said the government that is immersed in an economic crisis is even scared of posters put up by the working masses

LT

‘Lanka’ managing director arrested

Mirihana Police have arrested the managing director of ‘Lanka’ newspaper, published by the JVP affiliated Lanka Fast Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

The MD, Venura Herath, and another employee of the newspaper, identified as Janaka Mahendra, were apprehended today (Sept. 23).

Their arrests follows a complaint by the company’s director Lal Tennakoon to police that documents and a car belonging to the newspaper had been taken away by force by some persons.

This incident is said to be the result of the internal crisis in the JVP.

A majority of the directors of the newspaper is with the JVP leadership, while its editorial members, including editor Chandana Sirimalwatte, are supporting the faction led by Premakumar Gunarathnam alias ‘Kumara.’

According to reports reaching ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’, today’s issue of the newspaper distributed to some areas did not mention the publisher’s name.
SLM

Irida Lanka news paper circulation stopped by Grandpass Police

The circulation of Irida Lanka news paper was stopped by Grandpass Police after JVP’s mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Sunil Watagala two other directors of the Lanka Fast Publishers lodged a complaint. The directors came to the Lakbima News Papers premises where the papers are handed to the outstation circulation with the Police and confiscated the papers stating that the paper was printed without their approval.

“The paper was printed without us seeing it and we cannot permit the circulation. So we lodged a complaint,” a director said.

Meanwhile Lanka Editor Chandana Sirimalwatte told Sannasa News that he cannot understand why the paper was stopped.

It is said that Lanka paper is supporting the JVP rebels, specially Pubudu Jagoda, leader of JVP education wing. Yesterday the JVP media unit whose members supported the rebels was suspended
sannasa.lk

Lal Kantha urges IGP not to interfere with poster campaign

The National Trade Union Centre yesterday accused the government of deploying the police to remove its posters displayed in many parts of the country, including Colombo and its suburbs in support of its ongoing campaign demanding a Rs. 10,000 monthly salary increase.

JVP trade union leader K. D. Lal Kantha said that the police had been targeting the JVP, whereas those near and dear to the ruling coalition were allowed to display posters. The former MP emphasized that the police shouldn’t have removed its posters as they were displayed on special boards especially erected for that purpose.

Lal Kantha told The Island that he wrote to IGP N. K. Illangakoon to stop interfering in its campaign at the behest of the dictatorial government hell bent on stifling the freedom of expression. The police shouldn’t play politics at the expense of the Opposition, the JVPer said.

Emphasizing that law enforcement personnel had no right to interfere with a poster campaign, which was nothing but a democratic right enjoyed by political parties as envisaged in the Constitution.

Lal Kantha urged the police chief not to carry out illegal orders issued by political bosses, while warning the police would never be able to win public confidence as long as they threw its weight behind power hungry politicians. (SF)

IS

Arrest of ‘Lanka-e-News’ editor is a result of government’s phobia – Vijithe Herath

The JVP has expressed its vehement protest regarding the arrest of news editor of ‘Lanka-e-News.’ This is stated in a communiqué issued by the party with the signature of its Information Secretary Parliamentarian Vijithe Herath.

Mr. Herath in his communiqué accuses the government of attempting to evade the responsibility of setting fire to the office of the ‘Lanka-e-News’ web site and put the blame on employees of the web site. Mr. Herath also points out that the state media carried out a blatant propaganda to justify the act.

Arresting persons who do not tow the line of the government has become a habit of the present government and the people have come to suspect that the News editor of ‘Lanka-e-News’ has been made a victim of this  dirty practice of the government states the Information Secretary of the JVP. Mr. Herath points out that the fear the senior leaders of the present government have for those who do not agree with their policies has intensified to a stage of hysteria and states that this is evident in the attempts of the government to repress the media, university students and trade union activists and violence against them.  In his communiqué Mr. Herath states they consider the arrest of Mr. Bennet Rupasinghe as another instance of this hysteria of the government.

Mr. Herath points out that throughout history the government has failed to carry out proper investigations regarding attacks on the media institutions and journalists and adds that the reason for such failure is that senior men in the government are behind such attacks. He states what the government should do at this moment is to find out the real perpetrators and bring them before the law

In his communiqué the Information Secretary of the JVP states that the JVP demands the government to immediately stop repression of the media and calls upon masses to rally against the undemocratic moves of the government.
Lanka Truth

Police apologize to JVP ( for poster ban)

STOP REPRESSION

Dummalasuriya Police apologized to the JVP for arresting two of its members alleging they had pasted illegal posters. The police apologized when a petition filed in Supreme Court by the two JVP members was heard before a three judge bench comprising Judges Shirani Bandaranayake, Chandra Ekanayake and T.A Ratnayake today.

The two JVP members were taken into custody on 02.10.2010 while pasting posters that stated “Release former Army Commander immediately! – JVP.”

The Supreme Court after hearing the case decided that the arrest by the police violated fundamental rights of the two JVP members and ordered Dummalasuriya Police to apologize to the JVP members in open court. Accordingly, Constables Madhusanka and Lakshman and the officer who represented the OIC of Dummalasuriya Police apologized to the petitioners.

Senior Counsel Saliya Peiris and Counsel Sunil Watagala appeared for petitioners

LankaTruth

Three JVP offices attacked, polls violence increase

At least three JVP election offices came under attack last night and today morning as polls related violence increased with more than 100 incidents recorded by the election monitoring groups.

A spokesman for the JVP said that their offices in the Mirigama, Kribathgoda and Biyagama areas came under attack by persons believed to be supporters of the UPFA. Clashes between supporters have increased over the past week with less than three weeks for the local government polls.

Elections in 64 councils have been postponed as petitions challenging the rejection of nominations have been filed by parties or independen groups. Election monitors said that the clashes among UPFA supporters also have shown an increase compared to previous elections where clashes between rival supporters were high.

The Sunday Times

4 JVP arrested for pasting convention posters

poster ban by GOSL

Monday, 07 February 2011

The JVP charges that four of its supporters were arrested by police in the early hours this morning (Feb. 07) while pasting posters about the party’s sixth convention. Police were yet to obtain a statement or tell them the reason for their arrest by 8.00 am, said the JVP. The party also charges that four policemen in civilian clothing are tearing off the convention posters put up on notice board in Kirulapona area.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

 

SB stopped from delivering lecture

Saturday, 25 December 2010

Udul in South Africa at the 17th WFYS , says

By Sumaiya Rizvi

Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake was stopped from delivering a lecture at the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students held in South Africa, Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) convener Udul Premaratne said yesterday.

“We rallied other students around the world and they helped to spearhead a protest against S.B. Dissanayake which stopped him from attending to lecture at the festival,” Mr. Premaratne said. According to him the students were aware of the Minister’s treatment of  students and they supported the IUSF.

“Minister S.B. Dissanayake was to deliver a lecture but it was later cancelled following the protest,” Mr. Premaratne said. Students from all the Asian and European countries took part in the protest outside the place from where the festival was held, he added.

Mr. Premaratne and a few other students from the IUSF took part in the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students held in South Africa recently.

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/30964.html

Another violation of media freedom in Sri Lanka – 24 arrested for pasting posters.

NfR Press release/ 05 December  2010

NfR expresses its strongest condemnation of  new form of censorship being practicd  in Sri Lanka.  by  the imposition of a ban on posters and the arrest of those pasting them.  According to a  report released  by The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) in Sri Lanka,  24 persons have been arrested  for pasting posters during the last few months.   Almost all  posters so banned by the police, are critical of the government and relate to  rights of the students, workers and medical professionals.

On top of this,  in the Colombo public notice boards have been reduced to a minimum and putting up political bill boards have been effectively banned.

Public display of posters is an age old tradition of free expression all over the world and the people of Sri Lanka have enjoyed this right until now,  even under emergency rule. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has assured the  right to paste posters,  time and again during last few decades. As recently as on  4th October, this year the Supreme Court   directed the Attorney General to order the Police Chief to stop taking any action under Emergency Regulations in cases involving the pasting of posters. There is no law in Sri Lanka that prohibits pasting of  posters.

Intimidating and  arresting  persons pasting posters has  become a common occurrence in recent times.  It as a method of suppressing criticism and dissenting opinion.  As the CHR has stated ‘ There are no legal provisions preventing anyone from printing, distributing or pasting posters but in the recent months many arrests were made under the outdated section 120 of the Penal Code that deals with treason and unrelated sections of the National Thoroughfares Act and National Environment Act.’

In a situation where the mainstream media is under an unprecedented pressure  to practice self censorship of critical and dissenting opinions,  posters and hand bills play a vital role in the exercise of  the peoples right to information..  Banning posters and hand bills by arbitrary police action constitutes a serious violation of  the peoples’ right to know.

NfR considers this new development as a dangerous trend not only for the peoples’ rights to know but also to democratic governance. This again shows that the current regime has no genuine intention of improving media freedom  and its only concern is to control free dissemination of ideas and opinions in Sri Lanka.

Issued by
Executive committee
NfR – Sri Lanka

C/O, 19447, Victory Blvd,#2, Reseda,CA 91335, USA                      NfR.SriLanka@gmail.com

Steering committee : Iqbal MCM ( The Netherlands),Kshama Ranawana ( Canada) Lionel Bopage ( Australia), Nadarasa Sarawanan (Norway), Nadarajah Kuruparan(UK) Padmi Liyanage (Germany), Raveendran Pradeepan (France), Rudhramoorthy Cheran (Canada), Saman Wagaarachchi ( USA), Sunanda Deshapriya ( Switzerland)